Archive for the ‘Wheels Through Time’ tag

Despite the problems curator Dale Walksler has been having with local government, the Wheels Through Time Museum has announced it will remain open to the public in its same Maggie Valley, North Carolina, location from March 29 to November 12 of this year. Two early-bird weekend openings have also been announced for those riders traveling to Daytona Bike Week. Early opening dates are scheduled for March 2-5 and March 15-19. Author Cristine Sommer-Simmons will be at the museum on March 19 promoting and signing copies of her new American Motorcycle Girl’s Cannonball Diary. While there, you can also support the museum by picking up a handful of raffle tickets for the chance to win a 1932 Harley-Davidson VL Bobber with a 74-cubic-inch flathead V-twin engine.

In other museum news, Dale’s son, Matt, picked up this Harley-Davidson track racer with rare Flexi leaning sidecar from a private seller in Michigan back in December. The sidecar still has the original faded pinstriping, as well as the original racer’s name and Battle Creek, Michigan, painted on the side. Flexi produced both street and racing sidecars in Loudonville, Ohio, during the Twenties, but Matt commented on his blog that this was only the second sidecar he has seen that was set up for a racing Harley-Davidson. The sidecars were designed to lean on their 28-inch tire as the bike turned through the corners, presenting a more stable combination for both rider and daredevil passenger in high-speed turns. Restoration of the bike and sidecar continues at the museum, look for further updates on Matt’s blog on the Wheels Through Time website.

Adding to my nine-year losing streak, the winner of this year’s Wheels Through Time motorcycle raffle was Chris Hemminger from Centreville, Maryland. The 1936 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead Bobber winner’s name was drawn Saturday, November 12, and Chris elected to take the bike instead of an optional cash prize. Chris also received a limited-edition painting of the bike, titled Autumn Knuckle, created by renowned Harley-Davidson Artist, David Uhl.

1936 was the first year for Harley’s 61-cubic-inch OHV “Knucklehead” V-Twin with four-speed transmission, and this configuration was the company’s basic powerplant for retail bikes until the 1948 “Panhead.” Production numbers on the ’36 models are very low: Only 152 EL Solos were built and only 1,526 EL-Special Sport Solos (they also made 26 ES Sidecar Twins). With build numbers that small, it is a wonder H-D survived until the boom of WWII production.

Like all of WTT’s restorations, the bike was painstakingly rebuilt by Dale Walksler and his crew using genuine vintage Harley-Davidson parts and should give the new owner another 75 years of reliable service. The gold and black paint adds to the overall look of the bike, but is not an original 1936 color option.

Proceeds of the raffle help to support the museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, which we hope will open again in spring of 2012 at the same large facility in prime motorcycle riding country. Maggie Valley is situated near many Southern bike venues, including the Tail of the Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway and Cherohala Skyway.

I am already saving my spare change to get in on next year’s drawing. With a ticket, not only do you have a chance to win a piece of motorcycle history, but you can also support one of the most interesting motorcycle museums in America. You will find curator Dale Walksler there frequently, often riding one of the museum’s display bikes around the parking lot. It truly is “the museum that runs.”

Whether you enjoy an original unmolested Harley Knucklehead or wouldn’t mind one with a few new amenities, bikes to suit either taste are being raffled off this year to support motorcycling’s heritage. First, the old/new bike. The National Motorcycle Museum is raffling this 1947-looking Knucklehead that has been customized by J&P Cycles’ Kody Wisner and includes these upgrades:

The bike was donated to the museum by J&P, S&S, V-Twin Manufacturing and Hot Bike magazine, and will be raffled off on December 30. Proceeds will help keep the National Motorcycle Museum open for the enjoyment of thousands of visitors and help maintain the over 300 motorcycles and displays they have at their new Anamosa, Iowa, facility. Tickets are $5 each or six for $25.00 and can be purchased at the museum or from their website, www.nationalmcmuseum.org.

Wheels Through Time Museum's old school 1936 EL Knuckle

For you old school Harley people, Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, is having their ninth annual bike raffle with proceeds to be used to keep their display bikes running and create new exhibits and hopefully add to their collection. This year’s raffle bike is a 1936 Harley EL with a 61-cubic-inch Knucklehead. The bike has been restored at the Wheels Through Time facility by owner Dale Walksler and his staff. Raffle tickets are available now for $10 each or seven tickets for $50. The seven-ticket deal includes a Wheels Through Time T-shirt and a DVD. The drawing for this bike will be November 12. I will be visiting the museum in mid-June and will take additional photos of the Knucklehead.

For the non-rider, the raffle winner will also have the choice of the bike or $25,000. Further details are available at “The Museum That Runs” or at www.wheelsthroughtime.com.

This one is named “Big.” The bike sits in front of the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It is billed as the world’s largest, rideable motorcycle chopper (pay no attention to the training wheels under the primary cover). It will seat five people and is 23 feet long and eight feet high. It was built for the TV show of the same name on the Discovery Channel, then purchased by the museum. When I visited there last summer, the owner of the museum Dale Walksler fired it up and rode it around the parking lot with his dog on board.